Robert Unwin Harwood (January 22, 1798 – April 12, 1863) was the last ''

seigneur A seigneur () or lord is an originally feudal title in France before the Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. The seigneur owned a seigneurie, seigneury, or lordship—a form of ...

'' of Vaudreuil, commanding officer of the Vaudreuil Militia, and for thirty years a political figure in

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada () was a British colonization of the Americas, British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence established in 1791 and abolished in 1841. It covered the southern portion o ...

and

Canada East Canada East () was the northeastern portion of the Province of Canada. Lord Durham's Report investigating the causes of the Upper and Lower Canada Rebellions recommended merging those two colonies. The new colony, known as the Province of ...

Arrival in Canada

Harwood was christened at

Sheffield Cathedral The Cathedral Church of St Peter and St Paul, Sheffield, also known as Sheffield Cathedral, is the cathedral church for the Church of England diocese of Sheffield, England. Originally a parish church, it was elevated to cathedral status when ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, third son of William Harwood and Elizabeth Unwin. Representing William Harwood & Sons — his family's wholesale silver and hardware business in Sheffield that exported to

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

and

— he came to

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

in 1821. The obscure young merchant's fortunes were significantly improved when, two years later, he married Marie-Louise Josephte de Lotbinière (1803 - 1869), eldest daughter of

Michel-Eustache-Gaspard-Alain Chartier de Lotbinière Michel-Eustache-Gaspard-Alain Chartier de Lotbinière (; August 31, 1748 – January 1, 1822), 2nd Marquis de Lotbinière, though to keep political favour with the British he never used the title. He was seigneur of Vaudreuil, Lotbinière ...

Politics

He was named to the

Legislative Council of Lower Canada The Legislative Council of Lower Canada was the upper house of the Parliament of Lower Canada from 1792 until 1838. The Legislative Council consisted of appointed councillors who voted on bills passed up by the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canad ...

in 1832 and served until the

Lower Canada Rebellion The Lower Canada Rebellion (), commonly referred to as the Patriots' Rebellion () in French, is the name given to the armed conflict in 1837–38 between rebels and the colonial government of Lower Canada (now southern Quebec). Together wit ...

led to the dissolution of the council. He was a member of the Special Council from August 1839 until it was dissolved in 1841. After several unsuccessful attempts, in 1858, he was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada was the lower house of the Parliament of the Province of Canada. The Province of Canada consisted of the former province of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East (now Quebec), and Upper Canada ...

for Vaudreuil; he resigned in 1860 to run (successfully) for a seat in the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

for Rigaud division. In 1853, Harwood helped found the Vaudreuil Railway Company.

Seigneur de Vaudreuil

Despite being an Englishman who had married into the right to be called a

, Harwood was held in great respect by his tenants. Exchanging a life of society and business in

, he and his wife arrived in Vaudreuil in 1829 to bring the estate back to order. Rather than relying on rents as an income he built a large-scale co-operative mill to the great benefit of all those who lived on his land. He gave generously to churches, schools and the needy in Vaudreuil. He described his interest in pursuing reforms in agriculture and transportation as 'a hobby', but he displayed a firm grasp of the problems facing his tenants, and it revealed his genuine concern to improve things. When it came to collecting his seigneurial dues he preferred leniency to litigation, adding to the respect and admiration that his tenents held for him. His brother in

on the other hand berated him for his liberal attitude writing to him that 'the management of property to advantage is a talent not possessed by many, and certainly not by our family'. But the French-speaking newspaper ''La Minerve'' wrote at his death, ''Mr Harwood's conduct as a seigneur has been and remains irreproachable... Few seigneurs were as well liked by their ''censitaires'' as he was... The Hon. Robt. Harwood was much respected, indulgent to his tenantry, of unspotted reputation, courteous and considerate to all with whom he had relations.''

Chateau Vaudreuil

In 1830, Harwood rebuilt the old manor house at Vaudreuil where his wife had grown up, naming the new house 'Chateau Vaudreuil'. It was a large and imposing four-storey stone house on a hill, that burned down in 1870. After Harwood's death, when the

Seigneurial system of New France The manorial system of New France, known as the seigneurial system (, ), was the semi-feudal system of land tenure used in the North American French colonial empire. Economic historians have attributed the wealth gap between Quebec and other pa ...

had been abolished, his heirs sold the house and it subsequently became the College de St. Raphael before it was destroyed by fire. After the fire, under the foundation stone a leaden plate stamped with three

fleurs de lys The ''fleur-de-lis'', also spelled ''fleur-de-lys'' (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a common heraldic charge in the (stylized) shape of a lily (in French, and mean and respectively). Most notably, the ''fleur-de-lis'' ...

was found bearing the French inscription: (requires a source!) ''This stone was laid by Lady Louise Elyzabeth de Joybert, wife of the high and powerful Seigneur Philippe de Rigaud (

Philippe de Rigaud Vaudreuil Philippe de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil (; c. 1643 – 10 October 1725) was a French military officer who served as Governor General of New France (now Canada and U.S. states of the Mississippi Valley) from 1703 to 1725, throughout Queen Anne' ...

), Chevalier, Marquis de Vaudreuil, Grand Cross

Order of Saint Louis The Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis () is a dynastic order of chivalry founded 5 April 1693 by King Louis XIV, named after Saint Louis (King Louis IX of France). It was intended as a reward for exceptional officers, notable as the fi ...

, Governor and Lieutenant-General to the King of all of New France in 1723, the 15th of March.'' Lady Louise de Joybert was the daughter of

Pierre de Joybert de Soulanges et de Marson Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translatio ...

and his wife Marie-Francoise (who died in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, 1732), the daughter of Louis-Théandre Chartier de Lotbinière, Mrs Harwood's great-great-great grandfather.

Family

In 1823, at Vaudreuil, Robert Unwin Harwood married Marie-Louise-Josephte Chartier de Lotbinière (1803–1869), the eldest daughter of the Speaker of the House of Commons,

, and heiress to the

Seigneury A seigneur () or lord is an originally feudal system, feudal title in Ancien Régime, France before the French Revolution, Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. The seigneur owne ...

of Vaudreuil. Her mother, Mary Charlotte Munro, was a daughter of Captain The Hon. John Munro. The Harwood children became known as the de Lotbinière-Harwoods - co-seigneurs of Vaudreuil and first cousins of Sir

Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière Sir Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière, (December 5, 1829 – November 16, 1908) lawyer, businessman and politician served as the fourth premier of Quebec, a Canadian cabinet, federal Cabinet minister, and the List of lieutenant governors of ...

Prime Minister of Quebec The premier of Quebec ( (masculine) or eminine is the head of government of the Canadian province of Quebec. The current premier of Quebec is François Legault of the Coalition Avenir Québec, sworn in on October 18, 2018, following that ...

and

Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia The lieutenant governor of British Columbia () is the representative of the monarch in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The office of lieutenant governor is an office of the Crown and serves as a representative of the monarchy in the p ...

. Their children were: *Lt.-Colonel The Hon.

Antoine Chartier de Lotbinière Harwood Antoine Chartier de Lotbinière Harwood (April 23, 1825 – August 6, 1891) was a Quebec lawyer and political figure. He represented Vaudreuil in the Legislative Assembly of Quebec from 1867 to 1871. He was born in Montreal in 1825, the so ...

. He married Angelique Lefebvre de Bellefeuille, daughter of Eustache Antoine de Bellefeuille,

Seigneur A seigneur () or lord is an originally feudal title in France before the Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. The seigneur owned a seigneurie, seigneury, or lordship—a form of ...

of Bellefeuille, Quebec, and a niece of

John MacDonald of Garth John MacDonald of Garth (1771 – 25 January 1866) was a colourful character involved in the Canadian fur trade. He was an enthusiastic duellist and a shrewd businessman who became a partner in the North West Company and a member of the Beaver Cl ...

. *The Hon. Robert William de Lotbinière-Harwood. He married Mary Charlotte McGillis, another niece of

. Their daughter married Major-General Sir Samuel Steele, of

Lord Strathcona's Horse Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) (LdSH(RC)) is a regular armoured regiment of the Canadian Army and is Canada’s only tank regiment. Currently based in Edmonton, Alberta, the regiment is part of 3rd Canadian Division's 1 Canadian Mec ...

. Their son married Marie-Adelaide Masson, niece of The Rt. Hon.

Louis-Rodrigue Masson Louis-Rodrigue Masson, (baptized Louis-François-Roderick Masson) (6 November 1833 – 8 November 1903) was a Canadian Member of Parliament, Senator, and the fifth Lieutenant Governor of Quebec. He represented Terrebonne in the House of ...

Lieutenant Governor of Quebec The lieutenant governor of Quebec (; , ) is the representative in Quebec of the monarch, who Monarchy in Quebec, operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the Canadian federalism, ten other jurisdictions of Canada. T ...

. *William Bingham de Lotbinière-Harwood, merchant at

. *Alain Chartier de Lotbinière-Harwood (1836–1912), of Vaudreuil. *The Hon.

Henry Stanislas Harwood Henry Stanislas de Lotbiniere Harwood (August 8, 1838 – August 28, 1911) was a landowner and political figure in Quebec. He represented Vaudreuil in the House of Commons of Canada as a Liberal member from 1891 to 1892 and 1893 to 1904. ...

, of Vaudreuil and Montreal; father of

Louis de Lotbiniere-Harwood Louis de Lotbinière-Harwood (1866–1934) F.A.C.S., was a Canadian gynaecologist. He was Dean of Medicine at Université de Montréal, the second campus of Université Laval. He was President of the Medical Union of Canada, President of the Hôpi ...

. *Charles Ladislas Harwood (1844–1887), of Vaudreuil. *Marie-Louise de Lotbinière-Harwood (1830–1904). She married Antoine Eustache de Bellefeuille MacDonald (1828–1894), son of

and nephew of The Hon.

William McGillivray Lt.-Colonel The Hon. William McGillivray (1764 – 16 October 1825), of Chateau St. Antoine, Montreal, was a Scottish-born fur trader who succeeded his uncle Simon McTavish as the last chief partner of the North West Company until a merger be ...

and General Sir Archibald Campbell. One son married a daughter of The Hon.

Charles-Auguste-Maximilien Globensky Charles-Auguste-Maximilien (C.A.M.) Globensky (November 15, 1830 – February 12, 1906) was a writer and politician. C.A.M. Globensky was the grandson of August Franz Globensky, a Polish surgeon who fought alongside Hessian mercenaries for the ...

and another married Anne Macdonald, niece of Sir William C. Macdonald. *Marie-Antoinette-Charles de Lotbinière Harwood (1832–1896). In 1857, she married her cousin, The Rt. Hon. Sir Henri-Elzéar Taschereau,

Chief Justice of Canada The chief justice of Canada () is the presiding judge of the nine-member Supreme Court of Canada, the highest judicial body in Canada. As such, the chief justice is the highest-ranking judge of the Canadian court system. The '' Supreme Court Ac ...

. One of their daughters married a son of The Hon.

Joseph-Charles Taché Joseph-Charles Taché, (; December 24, 1820 – April 16, 1894) was a member of the Taché family, a nephew of Sir Étienne-Paschal Taché. He was a student at the Petit Séminaire de Québec and followed this by a study of medicine, receiving ...

, and another married her first cousin, Brigadier-General Alphonse Eugène Panet. *Marie-Henriette-Cornélie de Lotbinière-Harwood (died 1878). In 1862, she married Lt.-Colonel The Hon.

Charles-Eugène Panet Charles-Eugène Panet (November 27, 1829 – November 22, 1898) was a Canadian militia officer, civil servant, and senator who represented Quebec as a member of the Liberal Party. He was appointed on March 27, 1874 by Alexander Mackenzie. He ...

. *Elizabeth de Lotbinière-Harwood, died unmarried at Vaudreuil. Robert Unwin Harwood died at Chateau Vaudreuil in 1863, and he and his family are buried in the Chartier de Lotbiniere (subsequently the de Lotbiniere-Harwood) vault at their church, Saint-Michel, Vaudreuil, built by Mrs Harwood's grandfather,

Michel Chartier de Lotbinière, Marquis de Lotbinière Michel-Alain Chartier de Lotbinière, 1st Marquis de Lotbinière (; 1723–1798), Seigneur of Vaudreuil, Lotbinière and Rigaud, Quebec etc. In 1757, on his advice at the Siege of Fort William Henry, the Marquis de Montcalm successfully attacke ...

External links

* *
History of the Seigneury of Vaudreuil
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harwood, Robert Unwin 1798 births 1863 deaths Members of the Legislative Council of Lower Canada Members of the Special Council of Lower Canada Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada East Members of the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada Anglophone Quebec people Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Louis Businesspeople from Sheffield 19th-century English businesspeople